Using traps are the only way to stop moles

Published: Friday, February 7, 2014 at 01:30 PM.

Question: Moles are tearing up my lawn. How can I stop this?

Answer: Moles are very active at this time of the year tunneling through moist soil and gathering food. They are in search of their favorite food, earthworms. Moles are not interested in bulbs or plant roots. Although you may feel your lawn has been invaded by scores of moles, it is likely just one or two. Moles can tunnel 18 feet in one hour. They can travel 80 feet per minute through their tunnels. I have seen people that can’t travel that fast across a parking lot. Mole baits, grub insecticides, liquid repellent sprays, Juicy Fruit gum and broken glass are not very effective deterrents. The only way you can successful rid your lawn of moles is to use a lethal mole trap. There is an art to using them successfully. There may be a video on YouTube showing you how. Mole traps are available at most all farm and garden stores.

Question: My pear trees won’t bloom. Does that mean they are males?

Answer: My mother told me I was a late bloomer. When I challenged that idea, she produced all my report cards from the first through the 12th grade. Mothers can have very good memories. But in this case, the sex of the pear has nothing to do with this. In fact, pear blooms contain male and female parts. There are basically two reasons fruit trees such as pears do not bloom. The first is too much shade. Fruit trees need at least eight hours or more of direct sunshine. The second reason is that the trees are too young or immature. Pears can take four to five years to bloom. Hopefully, you have more than one variety to insure good pollination. If your pear trees do not produce fruit after they bloom, then there is a pollination problem.

Question: My wife and I disagree on whether ivy growing up a tree actually hurts the tree. Can you settle this dispute?

Answer: Ivy is not a parasitic plant. Therefore, it does not derive any nutritional benefit from growing on the tree. The tree is just a support, similar to a trellis. However, I and other tree professionals would like to see ivy kept out of trees. It is very difficult to diagnose tree defects such as wounds, insect activity and hollow cavities if they are covered in ivy. It also presents a problem for tree climbers that need to scale the tree for pruning. The ivy must be trimmed off first. It can be quite hazardous to tree climbers if they encounter a camouflaged hornets nest during the summer months, too. Therefore, I strongly recommend girdling the ivy at the base of the tree and keep it from climbing upward.

Question: Are you supposed to prune off all the dead blossoms that are still on the crapemyrtle trees?

Answer: Moles are very active at this time of the year tunneling through moist soil and gathering food. They are in search of their favorite food, earthworms. Moles are not interested in bulbs or plant roots. Although you may feel your lawn has been invaded by scores of moles, it is likely just one or two. Moles can tunnel 18 feet in one hour. They can travel 80 feet per minute through their tunnels. I have seen people that can’t travel that fast across a parking lot. Mole baits, grub insecticides, liquid repellent sprays, Juicy Fruit gum and broken glass are not very effective deterrents. The only way you can successful rid your lawn of moles is to use a lethal mole trap. There is an art to using them successfully. There may be a video on YouTube showing you how. Mole traps are available at most all farm and garden stores.

Question: My pear trees won’t bloom. Does that mean they are males?

Answer: My mother told me I was a late bloomer. When I challenged that idea, she produced all my report cards from the first through the 12th grade. Mothers can have very good memories. But in this case, the sex of the pear has nothing to do with this. In fact, pear blooms contain male and female parts. There are basically two reasons fruit trees such as pears do not bloom. The first is too much shade. Fruit trees need at least eight hours or more of direct sunshine. The second reason is that the trees are too young or immature. Pears can take four to five years to bloom. Hopefully, you have more than one variety to insure good pollination. If your pear trees do not produce fruit after they bloom, then there is a pollination problem.

Question: My wife and I disagree on whether ivy growing up a tree actually hurts the tree. Can you settle this dispute?

Answer: Ivy is not a parasitic plant. Therefore, it does not derive any nutritional benefit from growing on the tree. The tree is just a support, similar to a trellis. However, I and other tree professionals would like to see ivy kept out of trees. It is very difficult to diagnose tree defects such as wounds, insect activity and hollow cavities if they are covered in ivy. It also presents a problem for tree climbers that need to scale the tree for pruning. The ivy must be trimmed off first. It can be quite hazardous to tree climbers if they encounter a camouflaged hornets nest during the summer months, too. Therefore, I strongly recommend girdling the ivy at the base of the tree and keep it from climbing upward.

Question: Are you supposed to prune off all the dead blossoms that are still on the crapemyrtle trees?

Answer: Apparently, the rest of the world thinks so. Just about every crapemyrtle I have seen has been cut back. If all those spent blossoms are bothering you, then take a broom to them. They will fall apart when you touch them. Since my crapemyrtles are tall, the old blossoms are out of sight and mind. Rain and wind will take of them by design.

GRAPEVINE PRUNING

Put the pruning book down and go learn from a professional. Andy Zeeman, of Benjamin Vineyard, will demonstrate grape vine pruning Thursday at 10 a.m. The demonstration will be at the Agricultural Building, 209 N. Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington. The class is free, but call the Cooperative Extension Service at 336-570-6740 to register.

Rett Davis is a retired Alamance County Extension Director and a certified arborist. You can email your questions to him at Rett_Davis@ncsu.edu